Chapter 37 – Natural Enemy (6)

At Gu Cheon-ak’s startled shout, the boy, who was pale as a sheet while cradled in the woman’s arms, smiled and shouted.

“What am I? I’m your natural enemy.”

“Natural enemy?”

Natural Enemy, a term meaning nemesis sent from heaven.

He took another step toward him, but an overwhelming sense of helplessness surged through his entire body.

It felt like the blood in his entire body was scattering.

“Kheuk….”

Blood Eagle Dagger Claws Gu Cheon-ak, Elder of the Blood Cult, had trained in the inner cultivation technique Ghost Blood Burst Divine Technique.

This was the most powerful inner cultivation method accessible to anyone other than the Supreme Blood Demon of the Blood Cult.

As the highest-level cultivation method of the Blood Cult, it accelerated the blood flow, enabling an explosive burst of strength or the ability to replenish energy and stamina by absorbing another’s essence blood.

The Ghost Blood Burst Divine Technique was such an extraordinary inner cultivation method that, as long as one continued to absorb essence blood during battle, they could fight until their limbs were worn away.

However…

After absorbing the essence blood of that child and circulating it through his body once, he found that he was unable to control his blood at all.

The inner cultivation techniques of the Blood Cult did not utilize the meridians but the blood vessels, mixing energy into the bloodstream and quickly distributing it throughout the body. As such, strong control over blood was essential, but his blood had completely escaped his command.

It was a bizarre phenomenon.

Ordinary Energy Scattering Poison could not affect the Ghost Blood Burst Divine Technique.

Despite its name, Energy Scattering Poison disrupted the flow of qi in the meridians, interfering with energy circulation. Thus, it had no impact on the Blood Cult’s inner cultivation methods, which used blood vessels rather than meridians as conduits for qi.

This was why, during the so-called Blood Cult Bloodstorm thirty years ago, when the Blood Demon had attempted to return, they could unleash overwhelming power.

The Blood Cult masters swept through martial artists who had been debilitated by Energy Scattering Poison, rendering them helpless like ordinary mortals.

But now…

The boy must have done something, though it was unclear what.

Strangely, just like the name Energy Scattering Poison, it felt as if his blood was scattering throughout his body.

The fact that this boy could produce such an effect was utterly unbelievable.

“W-What have you done to me, you brat?!”

“Nunim! That guy is acting strange! Attack him now!”

“Nu-nunim?”

Though startled by his words, the Tang family woman quickly regained her composure and threw her Dragon-Subduing Whip at Gu Cheon-ak.

The Dragon-Subduing Whip, with its sharp, thin metal spikes, was designed to sever limbs with just a single lash and pull.

-Schwaaak!

The whip sped toward Gu Cheon-ak’s neck.

Under normal circumstances, with his skills, he could have easily avoided an attack from a woman of her level. But as he was no different from an ordinary man at this moment, he could not evade the Dragon-Subduing Whip that wrapped around his neck.

“Gahhh!”

In the end, the Tang Family woman’s Dragon-Subduing Whip coiled around Gu Cheon-ak’s neck.

Though he grabbed the whip with his hands in a panic, dark red blood quickly began to drip from his grip.

He caught sight of the Tang Family woman’s cold, merciless expression.

“Th-This can’t be happening! The Blood Cult’s revival, the world’s blood…”

“Shut up and just die already!”

Gu Cheon-ak, sensing his impending death, tried to utter his last words. But before he could finish, the Dragon-Subduing Whip rapidly unraveled from his hands and throat.

– Shaaak!

His vision spun as he lost all of his internal energy.

Thus the battle ended with the death of Gu Cheon-ak, Elder of the Blood Cult.

***

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if it would work.

But in this situation, this was the only thing I could rely on. I took a gamble, and to my surprise, it worked better than I ever could have expected.

I had hoped it might poison him to death or at least force him to retreat, but the effect was far beyond my expectations.

As his head fell, crimson blood spurted from his corpse.

– Thud.

Then, his torso crumpled and fell backward like a collapsing pillar.

The dark red blood gushing from his body began to dye the rain-soaked ground a deep red.

And then, a heavy silence fell.

Faced with such an unbelievable reality, no one could utter a single word.

The beast that had rampaged through like a tiger in a pack of wolves had suddenly collapsed in utter futility.

But then, a shout rang out from someone.

“We-we got him! Young Miss has killed  the Blood Cult Elder!”

“““Waaaaahhh!”””

Following that cry, cheers erupted from every direction.

“The Young Miss has beheaded the Blood Cult Elder!”

“Long live the Sichuan Tang Family!”

“Wooooo!”

-Shreeeek!

Soon, a signal dagger of the Tang Family shot into the now-clear sky, and the scattered warriors of the Tang Family began to converge on the clearing where the bloodbath had taken place.

In the midst of all this, nunim looked down at me with a dazed expression, holding me tightly in her arms as she asked,

“Soryong, what exactly did you do? How did you defeat the Blood Cult Elder…?”

Droplets of water fell from her damp hair and tapped against my forehead.

And despite being soaked to the bone, her embrace felt so warm.

Maybe because her arms were so warm, or maybe because of my exhaustion, my vision began to blur.

It must be because I’d lost too much blood, and now the venom of the Tiger Keelback was spreading through me.

Looking up at nunim, I managed to say,

“Nunim, I was bitten by a Tiger Keelback. I think I need to treat the poison….”

“T-Tiger Keelback? But isn’t that venomous…?”

Nunim’s eyes widened in shock at my words, and her voice, growing increasingly desperate, echoed in my ears as my surroundings faded.

“Someone get a Detoxifying Beads! Soryong has been poisoned by a Tiger Keelback!”

“Soryong! Soryong!”

The last thing I saw was Cho, Hyang, and Bin crawling onto nunim’s trembling shoulders as she sobbed.

***

A familiar floor.

‘Floor?’

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the floor, and I blinked in confusion.

Usually, when you collapse and then wake up, the first thing you see is a familiar ceiling, not the floor.

But here I was, lying face down on something resembling a punishment frame straight out of a historical drama.

As I tried to move my body, a flurry of urgent voices stopped me.

“Don’t move! Soryong!”

“Soryong, you mustn’t move!”

“Stay still, Soryong!”

All three voices were familiar to me.

One belonged to the elder of the Medicine Hall of our family. The second was nunim, and the last was Grandfather, the Man of Ten Thousand Poisons.

“Where am I?”

“Are you awake? Soryong, you’ve been unconscious for ten days now.”

“Ten days?”

As I asked in disbelief, nunim, crouched beside me and gazing at my face, answered.

She then took a wet cloth and began wiping my forehead as she spoke.

“Yes, ten days have passed since you collapsed. Do you remember anything?”

“Yes, I remember up to the part where the Blood Cult Elder collapsed…”

When I responded to nunim’s question with what I could recall, she nodded and explained.

“Yes, thanks to you, we were able to behead that man and bring your unconscious body back to the family manor. The poisoning was so severe that if Grandfather hadn’t returned early, it could’ve been disastrous.”

“What exactly happened? I heard you said you were poisoned by a Tiger Keelback. Does that snake really have venom?”

Still lying face down, I answered Grandfather’s question.

“Yes, the Tiger Keelback actually has two types of venom.”

“Two types of venom?”

“Two types of venom? But I thought Tiger Keelbacks isn’t venomous….”

Nunim was right. The Tiger Keelback, also known as the Yamakagashi, is found across Korea, China, and Japan. Up until the 1980s, no records in any of the three countries mentioned it being venomous.

These creatures are so timid that even when captured by humans, they tend to flee rather than bite.

It seemed that even in the Tang Family, no one had bothered to thoroughly investigate these snakes, as they weren’t aggressive enough to be considered a threat, leaving their venomous nature undiscovered.

“No, it’s true. They are docile, but they do possess two kinds of venom.”

“Alright, but more importantly, they said you used Energy Scattering Poison against the Blood Cult Elder. What did they mean by that? From what I’ve heard, it seems you intentionally allowed yourself to be poisoned by the Tiger Keelback and then manipulated the Blood Cult Elder into absorbing your poisoned blood. Does that mean the venom of the Tiger Keelback is actually Energy Scattering Poison?”

As expected of Grandfather, the Man of Ten Thousand Poisons, the greatest master of the Tang Sect. Even with just a rough overview of the situation, he seemed to grasp it immediately.

Lying prone, I managed to respond with difficulty.

“That seems to be the case. It appears to only work on those from the Blood Cult, though. I didn’t expect it to be this effective myself.”

“Oho! Incredible! Do you know how many martial artists perished during the Blood Cult Bloodstorm thirty years ago? If only we had known this a little earlier!”

Grandfather’s voice was tinged with regret.

Unable to hold back his curiosity, Grandfather asked why the venom of the Tiger Keelback had the effect of turning into Energy Scattering Poison against members of the Blood Cult.

“So, can you explain why exactly the venom of the Tiger Keelback had such an effect on those Blood Cult bastards?”

“I can’t say for certain, but based on my guesses…”

Snake venom is generally categorized into two main types based on its mechanism of action: neurotoxic venom and hemotoxic venom.

Neurotoxic venom affects nerve cells or neurotransmitters, paralyzing sensory nerves and the central nervous system. This results in cardiac arrest or respiratory failure, leading to death.

In short, the “ending” for neurotoxic venom is either a heart attack or suffocation.

Then what about hemotoxic venom?

Hemotoxic venom destroys capillaries and muscles, primarily targeting cell walls. As a result, being bitten by a snake with hemotoxic venom typically leads to death from multiple organ failure, rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown), or cerebral hemorrhage.

In these cases, the victim’s organs rupture with blood, or the toxins from necrotic muscle tissues enter the circulatory system, or bleeding in the brain causes death.

However, those with some medical knowledge might find this explanation a little odd.

After all, blood contains a protein called fibrin, which is produced by platelets. This protein is responsible for forming blood clots when venom dissolves cell walls or induces bleeding, thereby preventing the venom from spreading throughout the body.

So why does snake venom rapidly spread through the body and lead to death?

This is due to one particular protein among the many proteins present in snake venom.

This protein is known as an anticoagulant, which suppresses the activation of clotting factors in the blood, preventing the formation of clots.

When hemotoxic venom enters the body, it destroys the cell walls of red blood cells and inhibits blood coagulation. As a result, the victim is pushed toward an “ending” of multiple organ failure or cerebral hemorrhage.

“It prevents the blood from clotting?”

“Yes, Grandfather, this means…..”

That was why such an idea had come to me in that desperate situation.

The Blood Cult, based on its name, seemed to revere all things related to blood.

Why else would they have chosen the name Blood Cult?

Moreover, they were capable of inserting their hands directly into a person’s body to absorb their blood, and even sucking blood from a distance if the person was already dead. Given these creatures resembled vampires or even mosquitoes, what would happen if you fed such a being hemotoxic venom?

What would be the result?

That was the question that had sparked the idea, and the effect had been far greater than I anticipated.

Judging by the fact that the Blood Cult Elder had described it as Energy Scattering Poison, it seemed he had felt his inner energy scatter into fragments.

I was just relieved that this gamble had paid off.

If I had failed, I would have been on my third life by now.

“…So, I believe that it probably affected the blood, which is the source of their martial arts, causing such a result.”

As I finished my explanation, Grandfather, the Man of Ten Thousand Poisons, burst into hearty laughter.

With laughter still in his voice, he asked me,

“Hahaha, I heard from Hwa-eun that you called yourself a natural enemy, a heaven-sent adversary, to the Blood Cult Elder. Is that true?”

“Huh? Yes, Grandfather.”

I answered cautiously, wondering if it might have sounded a little too much like something from a second-rate teenage fantasy. But Grandfather only laughed even louder.

“Hahaha! Yes, your words were right. If we can keep them from fully utilizing their internal energy, then you truly are their natural enemy. After hiding for thirty years, it seems they’re trying to resurface, but this time, we will pull them out by the roots!

How dare they harm our family while I wasn’t here? But, as you said, our Sichuan Tang Family will indeed be their natural enemy.

Isn’t that so?”

Now that we had discovered their weakness, we could collect large quantities of Tiger Keelback venom and use it against them. Those mosquito-like bastards from the Blood Cult would meet their end.

Just as Grandfather said, our poison-wielding Sichuan Tang Sect would become their true nemesis.

“Yes, how could we possibly let those who dared harm our Sichuan Tang Family go unpunished? They must be thoroughly destroyed, without exception!”

‘You messed with the wrong people, you mosquito bastards.’

I vowed to thoroughly shake their very souls with Fabre-style poison.

As he left scars on my arm…

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – 에르훗]

[Translator – bjgoofy]